Reunited
by Secret Girlfriend
Summary: Finally he's back. Now Rachel just has to make a final decision.


**It was too tempting to do this, even though I should be writing for other stories. And can I mention just how cute Rory and Quinn's hug was when they were all dancing around after performing? :D Enjoy, review!**

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><p>"We've got to get Sam back," Finn said suddenly at lunch.<p>

Rachel froze in the middle of taking a bite of her salad. Did he just say what she thought he said? "Excuse me?"

"We need Sam back. Without you, we need a surprise for the Troubletones. Sam's our best bet."

Finn continued eating his lunch while Rachel stared in disbelief. "How do you even know where Sam is? Are you sure we can find him?" Rachel didn't know where Finn was looking, but she had tried everything. Mercedes, Quinn and Santana, calling, e-mailing. She couldn't find him.

"Facebook." Oh.

She really needed one of those.

"So when do you plan on finding him?" Rachel asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"This Saturday. I'm driving out to Kentucky and bringing him back. I'll kidnap him if we have to."

"Well then, count me in."

Finn's face lit up, not expecting her to readily accept this plan. It broke her heart a little, but she pushed that thought aside. She would deal with that if Finn's plan worked.

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><p>"You said he was here!" Rachel nearly screamed after a few hours of driving around the Kentucky border area. They'd checked everywhere they could think of, and there was no sign of Sam's big lips or blonde Bieber hair.<p>

"Don't worry, we'll find him. We have to." Rachel saw his look over in concern at her rather hysterical attitude. She wanted to win, _really _badly.

"Look, let's just pull over and get something to eat. We'll keep going afterwards."

Finn nodded and pulled over into a lot for what looked like a bar and grill. When they walked in all they could see was creepy middle aged women. They tried pushing back into a separate part of the restaurant when suddenly all of the crazies started cheering.

They were all running over to the stage where two guys were already standing. "And please welcome, White Chocolate!"

Both of them stopped, unable to look away. "I'll never be able to unseen this," Finn said under his breath as Sam tore off his overalls.

Rachel just stared, unable to stop staring. She hadn't seen this much of Sam since Rocky Horror Picture Show, and even then he had longer shorts on. And she had loved it then.

"Give me a dollar."

"What?"

"Give me a dollar."

Rachel pushed her way through the crowd, maybe stepping on a few extra toes for good measure. It was worth it though to see Sam's face light up for a moment when she made it to the front. But it suddenly turned to confusion. "Rachel?"

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><p>Rachel couldn't wipe the grin off her face all the way back to Lima. She had volunteered to ride back with Sam to keep him company. It might've been creepy but she couldn't stop staring at him while he talked about what had been going on since summer. She just wanted to drink his image in and plant it into long term memory.<p>

"Rachel?"

She pulled herself out of her thoughts. "What?"

"So how's everything at McKinley?"

She sighed heavily. Right, they had a reason to actually get him. Once she had told him about the Troubletones, he gave a small laugh and rolled his eyes. "Of course Mercedes would be the one to start this."

Rachel felt the worry rush through her body. How could she forget about that? "What are you going to do about her?"

He shrugged, keeping his on the road. "I don't know yet. I still kind of can't believe you… and Finn came to get me."

When he looked back at her she gave him a small smile, which he gladly returned. It faltered though and he turned back to the road. "How are you and Finn doing?"

"Fine, it's been a good few months." She paused, giving him a quick glance. He was still avoiding her eyes. "I don't really know where we're headed, but it's good."

Sam gave a slight nod, then quickly changed the topic to the football team.

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><p>Rachel came around the corner of the hall and saw Sam talking with Quinn. She forced herself to remain calm. There was no way he would go back to the mess that was Quinn. No, he wouldn't.<p>

She watched him walk away, a sad look on his face, but the usual spring in his bouncy step. She took her chance. "Hey Sam. Enjoying McKinley again?"

He gave her his usual big smile when he saw who had asked the question. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah. I missed being a teenager."

"And you missed us, of course."

"Oh of course." She beamed. So what if he was joking around? It made her feel good.

"What were you talking to Quinn about?"

"Oh," his face fell a little. "She was just telling me about Mercedes boyfriend."

"Oh. Well, are you okay?"

He shrugged a little. "I guess. I don't really know what I expected. I didn't really give you guys a trace for me, so how could you expect me to come back. But I'll get over it." He shrugged. "See you later Rachel."

"If it helps," Rachel grabbed his arm to stop him from going. _Holy arm muscle. _"I would break up with Bubba for you any day."

He gave her smile. "Surprisingly, that helps." He took her hand for a second. "Thanks."

"Anytime." She squeezed his hand back and kept walking down the hall, forcing herself not to look back. If she had though, she would've seen Sam staring back at her.

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><p>She cheered loudly when the clown announced first place. She shouldn't be surprised, but it would've been a lie to say Troubletones hadn't sacred her along with everyone else.<p>

She kept replaying New Direction's different numbers. Her mind kept halting though on Sam's dance during ABC, which had kind of side tracked her from analyzing everything else properly. It had been like when they'd found him at the bar. She couldn't stop staring.

Rushing into the choir room afterwards Rachel ran straight into Sam's arms. He spun her around in a tight circle. She didn't realize what had happened until he put her down and she looked into his eyes. For a split second she was about to lean into kiss him, but forced herself to take a jump back.

She turned quickly trying to find Finn, while trying to forget the fact that Sam had leaned in a little to. "Amazing job!" she screamed as he walked through the door, thankful he hadn't seen the scene two seconds before.

Finn caught her up in a sweeping hug, but the arms felt wrong. They were a little too long for her. That's when she knew. She knew what she had to do.

Taking a step back Rachel lead Finn out of the choir room. When she turned to him she missed the knowing look on his face.

"Listen Finn-"

"Go for it Rach."

She halted. "What?"

"Rach, come on. How stupid do you think I am?" She opened her mouth a little but he cut her off, laughing a little. "Don't answer that. But Rachel, really. After being with you as many times as I have for the amount of time I have, I've learned enough to know when we're falling out."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Well, what are you doing out here? Get in there before Mercedes turns up."

Her face lit up when she finally processed what her was saying. She leaned up on her toes and kissed him the cheek one last time. "Thanks."

Running into the choir room Rachel leapt back into Sam's arms and kissed him. She kissed him like it would her only time. She knew though, it was far from the last.

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><p><em>Give me a second I,<em>_  
><em>_I need to get my story straight__  
><em>_My friend's are in the bathroom getting higher than the empire state__  
><em>_My lover she's waiting for me just across the bar_

She gave Finn a quick glance but her gaze automatically snapped back to Sam. Finally they were together. It had taken long enough. Of course, the six month separation hadn't helped.

When Mercedes, Brittany and Santana showed up she gave Sam a hug before running over to grab Santana. She just didn't want to let go of Sam.

Everyone singing the last verse together Rachel beamed. She wasn't suspended, Sam was back, and everyone was back in New Directions. They were all reunited. The dysfunctional family was back.


End file.
